The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 223 - 158 Luo Feng’s Method, Art of the Northern Emperor

Chapter 223: Chapter 158 Luo Feng’s Method, Art of the Northern Emperor

The matter of the Jinhua Cat was told to him by Zhao Lvzi.

Zhao Lvzi was a hereditary Hidden Treasure Man, with a profound family learning. He not only researched Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, but also knew quite a bit about those demons and spirits hidden in desolate mountains, existing only in rural legends.

After all, they roamed the wilderness all year round, encountering all sorts of strange and bizarre things, perhaps even more than the Taixuan Orthodox Sect had seen.

That night, they drank wine on a barren hill, chatting idly in the moonlight.

Zhao Lvzi was really generous, sharing various strange and fantastic tales that enraptured Li Yan.

One of them was about this Jinhua Cat.

Among the pugilistic world’s Yanmen, aside from those who deceived others with their beauty, there were also those skilled in side door Magic Skills. Rearing a Jinhua Cat was their secret tradition.

The Jinhua Cat could not only bewitch people, causing them to leak vitality and essence, but it was also exceedingly secretive. If it didn’t act, it was almost indistinguishable from an ordinary cat.

It was precisely for this reason that it became a court secret technique.

"How could that be?"

Zhao Wanfang’s eyes filled with disbelief, "Auntie Liu has been very good to us; she says we are all suffering together, and never troubles the girls."

"You can never judge a book by its cover."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, standing up and saying, "Hua Qing and Cui Lan are probably dead, but that Auntie Liu is definitely still alive!"

"They’re too dangerous. Pretend you don’t know about this."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Stop!"

Zhao Wanfang bit her teeth and said, "All I want is revenge; I’m not afraid of death, what else should I fear?"

"Who exactly are they?"

Li Yan fell silent for a moment before replying, "Maitreya!"

"If I’m not mistaken, they are all under the command of an ’Incense Master’ named Red Woman. My father was discovered and silenced by them when he was inquiring about information."

"The Golden Jade Tower was burned down because they wanted to leave Chang’an, worried that the Taixuan True Sect’s Divination spells might trace them, and they didn’t want to leave any clues."

"It’s good enough that you know this. Don’t act recklessly on your own."

"Maitreya Sect..."

Zhao Wanfang’s complexion turned pale as she murmured to herself.

She hadn’t expected the situation to be so serious.

Meanwhile, halfway through his departure, Li Yan suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, "Also, stop talking about death all the time."

"It’s not easy to be alive; life is full of suffering. All these concerns about reputation and idle gossip are nonsense; aside from life and death, nothing is of great concern."

"Live as you wish to live, earn happiness each day you can."

"Once you’re dead, it’s a loss..."

Having said that, he jumped out of the window and vanished into the night...

...

Thump, thump, thump!

The next morning, before dawn, someone knocked on the door.

Li Yan was practicing boxing in the courtyard, wiped his sweat with a towel, and went to open the door.

Outside stood a fat man dressed as a wealthy merchant.

He smiled broadly and said with a fist salute, "Young Hero Li, I presume. I run errands for Hall Master Bai, and the matter has been settled."

With that, he pulled out a stack of papers from his bosom, "These are the deeds to the shops. Get them signed at the government office, and they can be transferred."

"Here are 500 silver taels, their compensation."

"Young Hero Li, Hall Master Bai said, do not forget the treat at Huawei Building."

Li Yan took the items, shaking his head with a smile, "Of course, no matter how poor I am, I’ll keep my company."

"Young Hero Li, you jest."

The fat man laughed, cupped his hands in a farewell gesture, and left.

Watching the man leave, Li Yan was pensive.

That night of the duel, this Hall Master Bai had been very modest, standing behind the iron master without saying much, almost like a lackey.

It seems now, he had much more beneath the surface...

He shook his head slightly and, turning around, saw Li Lao Gan coming out to wash up. Li Yan waved the items in his hand, "Elder Li, the situation has been handled, check the amount."

"What, really settled?"

Even after yesterday’s events, Li Lao Gan was still somewhat in disbelief. He shakily took the deeds to the shops and even began to cry with emotion.

Li Yan patted his shoulder to comfort him.

He did not find it funny.

A lifetime of struggle turned into nothing in an instant. Some people might even consider suicide, and for Li Lao Gan to have held on until now at his age was quite remarkable.

But this calamity had cost him at least half his lifespan.

"This... this is extra."

Li Lao Gan carefully counted with trembling hands and found the extra 500 silver taels, quickly taking them out to give to Li Yan.

"Keep it, it’s their compensation."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, pushing the money back to him and laughing, "Hei Dan has followed me since he was little; helping out is natural—as for payment, that would be pointless."

After many thanks, Uncle Hei Dan and his nephew left the courtyard.

The remaining errands would be handled by them.

As he left, Hei Dan kept looking back, reluctant to go.

Li Yan smiled and waved, "Go back, learn a skill well, earn money, marry a wife, and when it’s time to celebrate your marriage, I’ll be there."

He knew Hei Dan wanted to follow him.

But his world was far too dangerous.

Even the Li family didn’t dare get too close.

If innocent Hei Dan became involved, he feared that in a matter of days, not even remnants would be left...

After the incident, life became even more tranquil.

Uncle Hei Dan and his nephew, having reclaimed their properties, were busy preparing. As soon as Manager Wan, who was in charge of the Drum King’s Assembly, heard about this, he immediately went to ask Old Li Gan for assistance.

This time, they wanted to stand out, so the Divine Tower definitely couldn’t be something ordinary.

Sha Lifei and Luo Faqing were also busy all day. After Master Zhikong of the Zen promoted it, the news that the relics of the Tang Dynasty had been unearthed at Xiangji Temple quickly spread.

Li Yan had absorbed the blessings from this batch of relics.

Thinking of worshipping them to dispel disasters and drive away evil was no longer possible.

But sometimes people are just strange. Many wealthy families, upon hearing the news, scrambled to purchase them with hefty sums, showing great enthusiasm.

As one tycoon put it, they didn’t lack items to suppress evil and secure homes – with money, they could easily invite them from the City God Temple.

These were relics of a high monk from the Tang Dynasty – previously, only the imperial family and nobility had the chance to see them. For those in their families who were devout Buddhists,

to bring back one and offer it up, casually mentioning it when guests visited, would certainly be prestigious!

Wang Daoxuan, on the other hand, recommended by Landlord Du, dispelled disasters here today and subdued evil there tomorrow. These were small tasks, but his fame gradually grew.

Both had the intention to block all matters, allowing Li Yan to concentrate on cultivating.

After all, Li Yan had become the group’s martial powerhouse.

Unknowingly, another half month passed.

Li Yan spent his days practicing martial arts and cultivating spells, while at night he cultivated the Luo Feng Scripture with Storing God, entering a state of self-forgetfulness.

After enhancing the Daluo Dharma Body, he could cultivate more boldly without fear of injury, always hovering at the limit.

Whether it was martial skills or Dao, his progress soared rapidly.

With Madam Li’s help viewing and modifying his boxing, Li Yan finally managed to integrate Pihang and Red Fist according to his wishes. Pihang extended to strike from a distance, while Red Fist was tricky up close.

In terms of boxing, he no longer had significant weaknesses.

Especially when he cultivated, often accompanied by the Divine Drum Thunder Sound, each use of Pihang was imposing, booming with thunderous noise.

But when it came to the tricky close combat, it didn’t have that same prestige, thus appearing somewhat unbalanced.

Of course, Li Yan had a strategy in mind.

In the North Emperor’s Scripture, there was a technique called the North Emperor Yin Thunder Hand.

Like the Palm Thunder of the Mystical Sect, this too was a foundational cultivation technique of the Thunder Technique on Luo Feng Mountain. The only difference was that it cultivated Yin Thunder.

There are many types of Thunder Techniques, and what is called Yin Thunder was the thunder from the Yin Bureau, oppressive and yielding, best at attacking the soul.

When using this technique, one needs to make a gesture; a single strike would instantly shake the Divine Soul, and like an incessant maggot burrowing into the bone, it lingered, difficult to eradicate.

Integrating the North Emperor Yin Thunder Hand into the tricky fighting would naturally not need to mention its power.

With Yang Thunder’s might from afar and Yin Thunder’s danger up close.

The combination of Yin and Yang meant he no longer feared the heroes of the pugilistic world.

Of course, this North Emperor Yin Thunder Hand still fell a bit short for him, and the cultivation of the Luo Feng Scripture had also reached a bottleneck.

Another midnight came and went, and Li Yan awoke after Storing God.

He visualized his forehead, only to see that within the Divine Temple, the Stored God had already fully formed a body, no longer merely a humanoid light cluster, but rather a Daoist with the same facial features as his Daluo Dharma Body.

The envisioned deity resided in the Divine Temple.

The appearance of the Divine Temple also became clearer, ancient and profound, below which was the dark Luo Feng Mountain.

This was the uniqueness of the Luo Feng Scripture.

He wasn’t clear about the cultivation techniques of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, but according to Wang Daoxuan, the common Magic Veins cultivation often focused on building only the Divine Temple.

Daily cultivation was about making the Divine Temple continuously grow larger, as the foundation for constructing the second level of the pavilion.

Meanwhile, the Luo Feng Scripture used the visualization of Luo Feng Mountain as its base, with Yin Qi sinking below and Yang Qi rising above. Both were pure, and at the same level of Dao, the power of spells was greater.

This was the trick of the Luo Feng Scripture: above were the Night Light Pavilions, below the nine Yin Bureau officials lined up, Yin and Yang giving birth to life and death, with calamity halted in between.

However, Li Yan still wasn’t quite satisfied.

As good as the cultivation technique was, the speed of cultivation was unavoidably slow.

He pondered for a moment, then searched through his memories for the North Emperor’s Scripture.

His North Emperor’s Scripture wasn’t from the Taoist North Emperor school.

The latter worshiped Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole, excelling in slaying and killing, but their many commandments and decrees were also exceedingly strict. Often, before they could vanquish evil, they would perish and their Dao would fade due to violations of the decrees.

Decrees are an important aspect of a cultivation method.

For example, the Buddhist Vinaya Sect’s strict commandments enable monks to steadily advance as long as they strictly abide by them.

Yet, once they break a commandment, the consequences are extremely dire.

In life, it’s hard to be free from the seven emotions and six desires, love and hate entangled.

Those daring to cultivate this path, without exception, are ruthless individuals.

His North Emperor’s Scripture came from the Northern Ghost Emperor.

The master of Luo Feng Mountain was the Beiyin Fengdu Emperor, under whose command were the five Ghost Emperors. The North Emperor’s Scripture was the method of the Northern Ghost Emperor.

Only after entering the Mystical Sect did he understand its checkpoints and tricks.

Whether for drawing talismans or chanting spells, the name taboo of the deities was essential.

This "taboo" refers to the name of the deity.

For example, the Beiyin Fengdu Emperor was referred to as Great Court Sir, tabooed as Qing Jia.

Great Court Sir, as Zheng Xuan explained in "Ritual Records · Monthly Ordinance," was Emperor Yan, also known as Shennong. Great Court Sir was one of the eight tribal leaders of the Shennong Clan, once holding the position of the ancient Emperor Yan.

In the future, when you learn the methods of Emperor Fengdu and enter the taboo to chant spells, you start with "Qing Jia."

And currently, when he chanted spells, starting with "Nuogao" was the name taboo of the Northern Ghost Emperor, also an ancient Yin God from Ancient Times.

Their relationship is such that Luo Feng Scripture is a cultivation method, whereas North Emperor’s Scripture is a Protective Skill.

Although the Northern Ghost Emperor wasn’t as overpowering as Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole, his various Magic Methods were also extremely strong.

Among them was a ritual called the Yin Mountain Technique of Beiyin.

This ritual quickly enhanced the Stored God and Luo Feng Mountain, then utilizing the balance and transformation of Yin Yang to increase the strength of the pavilions, thereby growing one’s Dao.

This ritual was extremely dangerous, requiring practice in a place where ghosts congregate, rich in Yin Sha. Special notes indicated that without great Qi Fortune, one should not rashly practice it, to avoid falling into the Demon Path.

Li Yan was curious whether possessing the Daluo Dharma Body made one a person with great Qi Fortune...